Nostalgia

Today was an important day. All around me was a big crowd, smiling, laughing, chatting, hugging each other and what not. Not that I was all alone, standing in a corner, observing everyone. No; I was a part of that crowd, smiling, talking to them, nodding to whatever they were saying (it must be fitting well as no one frowned upon me). Still I was far away ... too far away … five years back, to be precise. I stepped out of the ground and started walking. Where was I going? No idea. But five minutes later, I found myself at my college gate. I couldn’t stop myself from stepping inside, not only the college but down the memory lane.

First day at the college, a no-one in the big crowd, unknown to everyone and everything around…

In next to no time, busy with classes, never-ending tests, scary semester exams…

Those hopeless practicals, where we would wait for the whole day for our doomed colourimeter to give us a reading which would fetch us a scowl and C grade from teacher…

Those pre-journal-submission-sessions in reading room, where we would compare our readings, manipulate them, paste chits on wrong information to hide mistakes and proudly submit our seemingly clean journal two days later than due date…

What about spending useless hours in library searching for an appropriate book to get appropriate notes for appropriate grades and end up missing the test itself?

Haven’t forgotten that adventurous semester where we all got screwed up for complaining against our HOD’s Ph.D student who unfortunately taught us Biochemistry. Wait! Did she teach us? Naah … Just told us to cram the stuff about to come in exam set by herself…

How about those interesting Killer-Killer sessions in the parking lot…

Or that historic class where we were taught about contraceptives and a girl innocently asks our encouraging teacher an innocent question – What is oral sex?

Participating in the annual function where we got more famous for our clash with the convener than our Holi dance…

Faking the patients for our internship just because we were too lazy to move our asses and still managing an O…

Celebrating Holi with friends, sadak naapna, footpath pe baith ke bheekh maangna, and having lunch with that breath-taking make-up on…

Chat and chat and chat till the peon comes and literally throws us out of the classes. So, what do we do? Sit on the staircase and dedicate songs for guys coming for evening classes…

Attending practical classes where we were told the importance of boy-friends in hostelites’ life by our teacher…

Bunking classes, missing tests, getting late for practicals, sleeping during the seminars…

Night stays on the pretext of studies, where we explored our wild sides…

Booze and fag and discussion sessions where we would discuss the meaning of our life, uselessness of our college, ineptness of our teachers, criticize our parents for their restrictions, instead of studying for the test next day…

Cooking practicals where rains would wickedly add water to our nasty recipes through the leaking roofs and wash out our already bleak grades…

And then came a time, jab humne grades, classes, notes, practicals ki moh-maya ko tyaag diya. After all we had grown up…

So many memories, so much time, so much fun … all came to an end today. Maybe it’s like that … life moves on … memories imprinted in mind … stealing a glance at them every now and then. Maybe I will get a chance to re-live them. Maybe …

We

I took a step.
We took a leap.

I got startled of the hurdle.
We conquered it.

I had a fall, I tumbled.
We climbed steps in step.

I was worried of the result.
We came of it.

I had an apprehension of future.
We were confident.

I was worried for the tomorrow.
We were celebrating.

I was gloomy for the sorrow.
We were treasuring it.

I was always a question.
We were an alibi to it.

I was judgmental, gave a verdict.
We analyzed it.

I was pink, I was green.
We were ripened in concert.

I was uncertain who you are?
You were my reply, resolution.

To the every question posed.
Together we were the solution.

You

Hii everyone. I just posted a blog, but since they are simply answers, i thought of posting something else. None came to my mind, so i am posting one of my poems. This is for a friend of mine and i wrote it quite a time back. I was and still am amateur at writing poems, so don't expect much.

You

Questions I have in my mind,

Answers to which I don’t find.

You are the one I come to,

With all my doubts.

How surprised I am that you don’t solve them,

But make me quiet.

I am at peace even without my answers.

My queries are left behind.

I am done away with the present,

Looking in the future ahead.

How you became a part of my life – that is a surprise,

Why I trusted you – that is not nature of mine.

My mind decides not to rely on you,

Yet the next time I share everything with you.

Are you real? I can’t feel.

Are you here? I can’t see.

Then why I m relaxed that,

You will be there?

When problems will arise,

When support will be no where.

Boulder upon boulder I am setting

Your support, my trust is cementing,

For myself a niche.

Comfortable, soothing and which,

I know will be mine.

Where I will come next time.

To be with you,

To be with my own self.

Not to get my answers but to develop questions.

Not to get solutions but the strength to find them

Not to find love but appreciate it

Not to find my destination but the encouragement,

To set my own journey…

Me tagged

Since Preets' net is not working, i am the only one who has to handle this blog for the time being. Poor me!

1.Pick out a scar you have, and explain how you got it..
I have this big scar on my arm's rear side. Got it when i was very young and sweet and innocent kid (I was once, okay?) and fell onto a hot hot parantha which was still on tava. Once a petoo, always a petoo.

2. What does your phone look like?
Like a phone... as simple as that. What else is it expected to look like? Colour? Silver.

3. What is on the walls of your bedroom?
A wall clock, two sceneries, and a big thermocol rabbit saying i miss you

4. What is your current desktop picture?
Some abstract picture, blue in colour and shows a guy..... can't explain more.

5. Do you believe in gay marriage?
Of course! All marriages are supposed to happy and gay, isn't it?

6. What do you want more than anything right now?
Hm.m.m..... live in hostel. Fingers crossed for my father's transfer

7. Last person who made you cry?
Got to think that now... when was the last time i cried..... i think it was in some movie... i just dont remember.

8. What is your favorite perfume/cologne?
I hardly use any, seriously.

9. What are you listening to?
Sawariya album, at the moment.

10. Do you get scared of the dark?
Naah

11. Do you like pain killers?
Naah. Why to take them?

12. Are you too shy to ask someone out?
Well, i think i am a bit. Digest it, guys. Actually I am not that good with expressing feelings.

13. If you could eat anything right now, what would it be?
Chocolate. Just had one. He he he

14. Who was the last person who made you mad?
Sohail

15. Who was the last person who made you smile?
Myself. I made myself smile when i served well in the last game of tennis i won today.

16. Is someone in love with you?
Yes! My friends Preets and Appu. Other than that.... ask them.

Okay that's it. Whom shall i pass it to now? No one in mind. Well All those who read, why dont you pick up a question and answer it. It will be good. I will post in the next blog.

Disaster Managed

6 December, 2007 – a day when our notions of exams were shattered. No longer can we associate orderly seating arrangements, neat stacks of answer sheets and question papers on teacher's table, strict deadlines, the quiet, tense atmosphere, and nervous students writing their answers, without a glance to the neighbour's sheet, with exams. Maybe last one needs modification – nervous students writing their answers, stealing glances to their neighbour's sheet.

It so happened that on December 6 we had our last semester exam – Disaster Management, and it was not only our last semester exam but also our last exam in post-graduation. And we all know how much we study for the last exam. Coupled with loss of interest in grades, we had hardly touched the pamphlets and book. So, Preets and I decided to sit side by side in the last row and, just like this blog, write our exam in collaboration.

Finally, our teacher arrived and distributed the answer sheets. We were prepared for the worst when she started dictating the questions. She dictated the first question – that's an easy one – and stopped. We both were waiting for another question but instead came the announcement that we were to finish that one question in as-much-time-we-want. Hurray! That's what we call 'icing on the cake'.

Finally after doing stretching for five minutes, discussing the answer with each other for another five and commenting on our classmates for another five, we started our exam. Quite obviously, we decided on the outline together, adding few things from here and there. Are you wondering, how we managed that? Well, it's not a difficult task, especially when the teacher is busy dictating questions to another class which is giving exam with you and which starts discussing the question with teacher itself. They were discussing with teacher and we were discussing it amongst ourselves - we believe in equality. After all, bade bujurgo ne kaha hai – 'two is better than one' and we definitely believe in that.

I got bored after an hour of exam; Teacher was still discussing the questions with the other class and my class was still writing. How boring! Just then the idea of writing a blog popped up in my mind and obviously it had to be shared with Preets. So what if exam is going on! Sadly, she was taking it seriously – the exam I mean – and therefore, asked me to keep my mouth shut and let her concentrate on the exam. Just then, Teacher announced that she is going for her meeting which would take more than an hour. She left and her chair and her table was occupied by a girl from that 'other' class, who also happened to be our best friend. Her presence and absence of our teacher stimulated new thoughts in my mind – our coming party. And obviously they also need to be shared. I firmly believe that such dangerous or exciting thoughts should not be allowed to stay in mind for long; immediately share them.

Being a lazy person that I am and the momentarily-serious Preets had become, I just shouted to our best friend that I have got some new ideas for our party. That took away whatever seriousness Preets was faking!!!! We both started discussing our party; occasionally shouting few of the interesting ideas to our best friend at teacher's table, totally oblivious to 18 other students in the class who, we both are pretty sure, were quite serious about the exam.

Sooner they found a way out. We saw few of our classmates getting up from their seats. Since they were serious about the exam we knew they couldn't have finished yet, so we asked them the reason; we are always the first ones to leave the classroom after exam – lazy big bones to write too much. Apparently, having decided that we were a hopeless case and that no amount of persuasion will stop us from bantering, they had decided to leave the class and find a quiet one. Well, that was the end of our exciting chitchat as we were reminded of our exam by our friend; we at least listen to her. Sigh; we glanced at each other and then at our answer sheets from which incomplete answer was glaring at us. We started writing....

Another half an hour and we had returned to our chitchat with occasional blotting of answer sheet with ball pen; this time volume lower and total absence of shouting to other friend, who obviously was feeling neglected, quite apparent from the looks she was throwing at us. That continued till we finished our exam. I was the first one to do the honour, so I took the liberty of roaming around the class and filling in our friend with few of the newer ideas. Our classmates had, by then, resigned themselves to their fate and our manners, as if they had an option! Soon I was joined by Preets; we disturbed the class for some time and then went to our chai wala to celebrate the end of our Examination Saga.

God knows what grades will we get in this exam but seeing the condition we were in at the start of the exam, we can easily say – Disaster Managed. Harry Potter fans, are we?